Vericle



Sept. 26, 1933. J. z. A. DENINSON 1,923,412

VEHICLE Filed Jan. 14, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 5 N I INVENTOR a g Jgw 'WMMa $44 ATTOR N EY Sept. 26, 1933. J. z. A. DENINSON VEHICLE Filed Jan.14, 1930 3Sheets-Sheet 3 H0: 1 INVENTOR ATTORNEY \S Patented Sept. 26,-1933,

. 3 .3 Y, I "VEHICLE I Jacob Z. A. benin son, NcwYork, v ApplicationJanuary 14, 1936; Serial No. 420,809 1 SLClaims. ,(c'l. is0 2i) I Myinvention relates to anew and improved vehicle. r

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a vehicle whose runninggear consists of a single'ball. H p v Another object of my invention isto provide a vehicle in which a single ball,- which contacts withtheground directly or indirectly is used to support and carry all the otherportions of the vehicle. 4

Another objector myinvention is to provide a vehicle whose running gearcomprises a single ball, while the upper part of the vehicle exerts africtionaldrive uponthe said ball, said upper part being automaticallyheld in proper position.

Another object of my invention is to provide a vehicle of the abovementioned type in which the-position of the upper part of the vehicle.rela;- tive to the ball, is automatically shifted through apredetermined range, in accordance with the driving force exerted by themotor.

While I have referred to the running gear of the vehicle as comprising asingle ball, it is tobe understood that the invention covers any othertype of revoluble member uponwhich the vehicle is located, and that itwould-not be depart ing from the'invention if a plurality of balls or inany mannerthe like were used. 7 e

Other objects of my invention will beset forth in thefollowingdescription and drawings which ing understood that the abovegeneral statement of the objectsof myinvention is intended merely togenerally explain the same and not to limit-it Fig. 1;. is asideelevationdiagrammatically illustrating the principle of the invention.The vehicle issupposed to be in the position of rest. Fig. 2 is a viewsimilar to Fig. 1 showing the vehiclein the position in which it isbeing propelled; l M I v Fig. 3 is another embodiment of the-invention.

. Fig. 4 is a plan'view of Fig. 5. I Fig. 5 is a front elevation ofvehicle. i

Fig. dis a side elevationof Fig. .5. J Figs. 7--9 inclusive showdifferent types of frictional drives ,for the running gear. I Fig. loillustratesa different type ofrunning gear. Y

Fig. 11 bodiment. of the irivention this" beingthe'preferred type.

eigi z is'a front :view of Fig 11.; v 1

illustrate a preferred embodiment thereof, it be a third type of is aside elevation showing another em L the ball l. 'rev'ersedjanda suitablegear system could be Fig. 13 is a diagrammatic. view showing how thevehicle is propelled along'a straight line.

Fig. 14. is a diagrammatic view showing how the vehicle is propelledalong'a curved line. Fig. 15 diagrammatically illustrates the prin cipleutilizedin Figs. 10, ll and 12..

Fig. 16 diagrammatically illustrates how the vehicle illustrated inFigs. 11 and ispropelled along a straight line. Fig. 17'diagrammatically illustrates/how the vehicle shown in" Figs. ligand- 12is propelled along a curved line. I Fig; 13 showsthe inclinationproduced in the upper part of the. vehicle, when the typeshown inFigs/ll and 12v isbeing propelled or whilfe'it is shifted sideways dueto striking an obstacle;

Asshownin Figs. 1 and 2, the running gear of the vehicle consists ofasinglelarge ball 1 i made of anysuitable material, and'covered withrubber or, having any type of tire on the outside This ball -may besolid or hollow. The upper part of thevehicle comprises a motor M having'a pulley 2, which is connected'bya belt 3 ma pulley Al on the drivewheel 5. The drivewheel 5 .isconnected tothe idler wheel 6'by ordinaryframe means '7. There may be 'a pair of. drive wheels 5, and a pair ofidler wheels 6. The number of wheels 5 and 6 may be varied. For example,there may be three such wheels.

- The frame member 7 is provided with a de- 8.

pending weight 8, which is rigidly secured thereto. This weight couldconsist of the vehicle itself, or any part of the vehicle. The weight 8extends laterally over the'periphery of the ball, and in actual practicethere willbe twosuch weights-8, one for each side of thevehicle. Thewheels 5 and 6 have sumcient frictional hold upon the periphery of theballl, to prevent any lateral slipping.

When the motor M is actuated the wheel or wheels 5 exert a frictionaldrive against the periphery of the ball 1; so that the arm 9, bymeans ofwhich the weight 8is rigidly connected to theframe '7, is shifted to theinclined position shown in] Fig. 2'. That is, the drive wheel ,or

drivewheels 5 are caused to turn'in'the coon-- ter-clockwise direction.This causesthe ball 1 .to turn in'the clockwise direction,thuspropelling the vehicle in" the direction of the arrow A, shown in Fig. 7vertical. direction, depends upon the torque ex- ,the drive wheel ordrive wheels upon ,Of course,the"motor M could be cited by used forcontrolling the speed of the vehicle and 2. The inclination of the arm.9 to the of the vehicle is provided with arms 10 which are similar tothe arms 9. These arms 10 have integral segments 11 provided withlaterally bent portions 12, which" act as stops to limittherelativemovement between each arm 10 and each arm 14. Each arm 14 is pivotallyconnected to its arm 10 by a member 15, and it is with a weight 8 at thetop thereof.

, Of course, two such arms 10 are-provided, and they are laterallyoffset from the periphery of the ball 1. Any suitable means could beused for causing the relative movement between arms 14 and 10, which areproduced by said intermeshing gear teeth. j I

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 3, the arm 14 is always held vertical'asthe und'ercarriage 7 is shifted, so that the weight 8 operates inthe isprevented from rising manner before -described. The lateral stops 12limit the relative movement between the arms-10 and 14. Fig. 3 'is shownto illustrate how the force of gravity acting'below the undercarriage 7,will automatically balance the driving torque and the accelerated usefulload.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6,

' the undercarriage 16 of the vehicle is provided with a frame member 32on each side thereof. Each frame member 32 has arounded bottomwhichserves as a track. The'vehicle. also in- 'cludes a'revoluble plate19, which is controlled by the steering column 21 provided with asteering'wheel 22. The motor-M is mounted upon this pivoted plate 19,and the drive wheel 7 is mounted in bearings 20, which are alsoconnected to the revoluble plate19." Theyehicle is provided with tworear idler wheels'18, The seat S is not mounted directly upon thevehicle. On the contrary, it is slidably mounted'by. means of rollers23, on the top bars24 of an outer frame 25. This outer frame 25 isprovided with electric batteries'2'7at thefour corners there: of, andthese batteries 2'? serve as heavyweights, to produce the proper balanceand resistance-to the action of the driving torque;

v The outer frame 25 is mounted upon the track portions of theinner'frame 32, by means of rollers 31.

As shown in Fig. 5, the outer frame 25 is provided with a bar 26, havingangular extensions 30. The operation of this embodiment is as follows: j

When the drive torque'is exerted, the vehicle tends to move to the leftof the position shown in Fig. 6. This tends to tilt the inner frame 32in the counter-clockwise direction, from the position shown in Fig. 6;In the position'shown in Fig. 6, the rollers 31 are symmetricallydisposed with respect to the central vertical axis of the frame.However, if the frame". 32 is tilted, the rollers 31 are moved to theleftof theposition shown in Fig. 6, so that the eifectiveweight imposedupon the frame'25 by the weights 27, now operates in the same manner 'astheweight 8 shown in Fig. 2, to resist further tilting of the frame32fHowever, the frame 25 is merelyshifted'horizontally and without tilting,so that the seat S remains perfectly horizontal. The seat Swithjre'spect to the :vehicle by means of hooks 33.

provided.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. '7, there are four wheels W connected tothe carriage. The embodiment shown in Fig. 8 also has four wheels, thesteering being accomplished in a different manner.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 9, there are two such wheelsW. In theembodiment shown in Fig. 10, the device is provided with two large outer'wheelsW and W :13, similar to ordinary automobile wheels, and the ball1 is mounted within such wheels, as illustrated in greater detail inFigs. 11 and 12.

As shown in Fig. 13, if the ball travels in a straight line, it travelson a great circle thereof. As shown in Fig. 14, if the ball is moved ina curved path, then it moves on a small circle thereof.

As shown in Figs. 11 and 12, the running gear of the vehicle maycomprise two ordinary wheels We, which-may be similar in construction toautomobile wheels, save that they are without spokes, so that the ball 1can project through said wheels W.- Thevehicle can have any suitablenumber of wheels which contact with the ball 1, three such wheels beingillustrated herein, as in the embodiment shown in Figs. 4-6.

The motor M is provided with the ordinary controlbox C and the motor Mdrives the two front wheels 40. The rear wheel 41 is provided with asteering wheel 22. The frame 43 is provided with depending arms 44.Likewise, the arms 44 and the frame'are provided with'rollers 45 whichbear against the flanges 46 of the wheels-W, so as to keep the parts inproper relative position. The arms 44 terminate in gear portions 4'7. gI r A square horizontal frame48 supports the weight of the upper part ofthe vehicle. This square frame 48 surrounds the arms 44. The frame 48 isprovided with yokes 49 connected thereto by means of angle bars 59 sothat the yokes 49 are rigidly connected to the frame 48. The yokes 49are provided with gear portions 51,

which mesh with the gear portions 4'7 of the arms 44. The drawings donot show the upper frame or structure which carries the useful load, butthis detail can be readily seen from Fig. 6 for example.

According to this embodiment, when the drive torque is imposed upon thedrive wheels 40, the arms 44' are tilted in the counter-clockwisedirection. This tends to-shift the yokes 49 together with thefra me48 tothe'right, as illustrated in Fig. 18. However, the frame 48 isnottilted, but it is only shifted horizontally so that the useful loadcarried on-'the frame 48 is merely shifted horizontally withoutany'tilting; I

When theframe '43 is shifted, the force of gravity resulting from theweight or weights which are connected to said frame 48, resist thefurther tilting movement of the arms 44 thus establishing a balance orequilibrium.

The ball 1 has sufficient frictional hold upon the flanges 46, to causethe wheels W to turn, in order. to propel the vehicle. I

I wish tomake it clear that the drawings only diagrammaticallyillustrate the principle of the invention, asall the well knownmechanical details, such as springs, etc., have beenomitted.

For example, instead of using a friction drive, an ordinary gear driveor the like could be utilized.

Since the motor is caused to propel a. wheel or wheels which followtheperiphery of the ball, the effect is the-same as though the armorarms de- In order to conveniently designatethe parts.

for the purposes of the claims, that portion of the device whichincludes the drive wheel or drive wheels, may be designated as the,driven portion of the vehicle. While I have shown the vehicle mountedupon a ball, itis not necessary that the vehicle should be mounted on asupport having a spherical shape. It is clear that the invention wouldoperate if the vehicle was mounted upon a supporting member having around surface. Indeed it is not absolutely necessary that this roundsupporting'surface should be of circular contour.

As shown in Fig. 12,.the members 47 and 51'.

have their centers of revolution connected by hook devices a. Hence, theload carrying frame 48 dependsfrom the arms 44, by means of hooks 80orany similar device.

I have shown a preferred embodiment of my invention, but it is clearthatnumerous changes and omissions can be madelwithout departing exerted onsaid driven portion, so that gravity from its spirit.

I claim:

1. A motor driven vehiclecomprising a driven a portion located upon thesurface of a ball, said driven portion having a weight connected theretoand adapted to resist a relative displacement between said drivenportion and said ball which is produced by the driving force. a

2. A motor driven vehiclecomprising a driven portion located upon thesurface of a ball, said driven portion having depending arms and aweighted frame which is tiltable with respect to said arms, saidweighted frame being adapted to resist the tilting movement of said armswhich is produced by the driving force.

3. A vehicle comprising a pair of main wheels adapted to contact withthe ground, said wheels having annular flanges, a ball resting upon saidannular flanges, adriven portion of said vehicle resting upon said ball,means adapted to maintain said driven portion in proper relativeposition with respect to said flanges, arms depending from said rigidportion, and a Weighted frame depending from said arms and turnablyconnected thereto so that the tilting of said arms causes a lateralshifting of said weighted frame, and a resulting counter-force to resistthe tilting of said arms under the influence of the driving force.

4. A motor driven 'vehicle comprising a driven portion located upon theround surface of a supporting member, said vehicle having a portionthereof located below the center of said supporting member, so that saidportion of said vehicle constitutes a weight which is adapted to resista relative displacement between said driven portion and said supportingmember, which is produced by the driving force. a

5. A motor driven vehicle comprising a driven portion located upon theround surface of a supportingmember, said driven portion having aweighted frame connected thereto below it, said frame being tiltablewith respect tosaid driven portion, so that it tilts when the drivingforce is willproduce a counter-force adapted to resist the displacementproduced by the driving force between'said driven portion and saidsupporting member. p I

6. A vehicle comprising running gear adapted to contact with the groundand tosupport a frame,- driving means connected to said frame andcontacting with around surface of said running gear, a motor adapted toactuate said drive I means so thatthe turning of said drive meansactuate said running gear and causes the vehicle a to move, said framebeing tiltably mounted; and

having a portion whichis offset from the center of gravity of saidrunning gear, so that when said frame is tilted by the actuation of saiddrive means, the force of gravity can resist the relative displacementbetween said frameand said'running gear.

' JACOB Z. A. DENINSON.

